Which Linux Distribution?

Analog Revenant

Analog Revenant

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So I have a new notebook and ditching Windows for Linux.. Now just choosing which distro. Except of the exception of MS SQL, all other software will run fine. I have worked extensively with Ubuntu (mostly server) but not the desktop version since the unity interface, and a bit skeptical of it. I also see Mint is becoming very strong. What are the general consensus here? Any suggestions to try out?

Thanks :D
 
I'll obviously recommend Ubuntu. Not just because my website/forum is all about Ubuntu but my personal experience with it has been quite good. I actually enjoy using Unity. Initially, it was absolutely buggy but it has improved a lot since then. If you enjoy gaming, then Steam is available for Ubuntu. It doesn't have that many games but its still a good start.

If Unity and Ubuntu doesn't do it for you, then I highly recommend Mint.
 
Go Ubuntu Gnome Remix. The awesomeness of Ubuntu with the worlds best desktop (Gnome 3).

I have a high end notebook running it and its a dream!

Mint is Meh. However, if you are very new and dont know what you are doing then its probably a better choice. I just love gnome3 so much :D I say go for the remix, but I know Gnome3 + Ubuntu is not 100% refined.
 
yeah.. I suppose I should give Unity a chance, I'm also a long time gnome supporter, so in 2 minds right now. The ubuntu / gnome remix sounds cool, is this like a supported version LTS?
 
adidas said:
yeah.. I suppose I should give Unity a chance, I'm also a long time gnome supporter, so in 2 minds right now. The ubuntu / gnome remix sounds cool, is this like a supported version LTS?
Click to expand...

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuGNOME/ReleaseNotes/12.10

I dont think it is a supported version. Ubuntu and Gnome are currently having a nerd fight :( I think it will be a couple of months to a year before things are cool again. I really like gnome 3, and that is surprising considering how similar it is to unity in many regards (its kinda like a gnome2+unity)
 
ghoti said:
Go Ubuntu Gnome Remix. The awesomeness of Ubuntu with the worlds best desktop (Gnome 3).
Click to expand...

Seconded, OK I'm a Fedora guy myself but Gnome 3 has progressed by leaps & bounds on the desktop whereas Unity wants to be the "everyman" UI on PCs, tablets & phones and just doesn't work for me (I played with 13.04 over the weekend).

Gnome 3.8 seems to offer even more by all reports but I'll have to wait for Fedora 19 to check it out.
 
I would download both Ubuntu and Mint, install them both in a VM and see which one you would prefer?

The new Mint version should be release any day now.
 
MickZA said:
Seconded, OK I'm a Fedora guy myself but Gnome 3 has progressed by leaps & bounds on the desktop whereas Unity wants to be the "everyman" UI on PCs, tablets & phones and just doesn't work for me (I played with 13.04 over the weekend).

Gnome 3.8 seems to offer even more by all reports but I'll have to wait for Fedora 19 to check it out.
Click to expand...

I tried the Fedora version. I didnt take to it. It is not a bad desktop but I feel Ubuntu has more polish. Ive got too used to the ease of Ubuntu for my desktop. All my stuff just works. Even the network HP printer/scanner (you just type hp-setup in ubuntu).

I do hear Gnome 3 works better with Fedora. At least their dev teams are not fighting. Im just glad that my new laptops hardware is fully supported by the default OS. Seriously, not one tweak (8GB RAM, Nvidia GFX, SSD drive, i7, Bluetooth, wireless, etc).
 
ghoti said:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuGNOME/ReleaseNotes/12.10

I dont think it is a supported version. Ubuntu and Gnome are currently having a nerd fight :( I think it will be a couple of months to a year before things are cool again. I really like gnome 3, and that is surprising considering how similar it is to unity in many regards (its kinda like a gnome2+unity)
Click to expand...
What do you mean it is not officially supported?

It is on the official mirrors at least, and the last time I checked, as long as you use the official repos and not changing to unsupported things like systemd, they usually support it.

Official Ubuntu-Gnome, which used to be called Ubuntu Remix. http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-gnome/releases/13.04/release/

And here is a better link that explains it: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuGNOME
Ubuntu GNOME is an official flavor of Ubuntu, featuring the GNOME desktop environment.

Our first (unofficial) release was 12.10 ("Quantal Quetzal"), released in October 2012. See the Release Notes for more information and download links.

The first official release will be 13.04, which will be available by the end of April 2013. If you're itching to try it now, check out the daily images here.
Click to expand...

Both of these however are not LTS, so they will only be supported for a short time, but once the next LTS 14.04 hits, it will be LTS and Official.
 
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Am I the only one who doesn't hate Unity? Quite like it to be honest...

To be fair- Ubuntu 12.04 was my first foray into Linux, and I really enjoy it...
 
Maverick Jester said:
Am I the only one who doesn't hate Unity? Quite like it to be honest...
Click to expand...
I didn't like it at first. I stayed with 11.04 for as long as I could to avoid Unity, then finally decided to take the plunge and upgraded to 11.10 and 12.04 in one day. It has grown on me now.
 
ginggs said:
I didn't like it at first. I stayed with 11.04 for as long as I could to avoid Unity, then finally decided to take the plunge and upgraded to 11.10 and 12.04 in one day. It has grown on me now.
Click to expand...

And thanks to the add on you posted previously, it's pretty darn sweet now :D
 
Tinuva said:
What do you mean it is not officially supported?

It is on the official mirrors at least, and the last time I checked, as long as you use the official repos and not changing to unsupported things like systemd, they usually support it.

Official Ubuntu-Gnome, which used to be called Ubuntu Remix. http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-gnome/releases/13.04/release/

And here is a better link that explains it: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuGNOME


Both of these however are not LTS, so they will only be supported for a short time, but once the next LTS 14.04 hits, it will be LTS and Official.
Click to expand...


Ubuntu doesn't use GNOME Shell by default, but users are able to install it from the Ubuntu repositories since version 11.10.[24] In addition, an Ubuntu Gnome Remix is released alongside Ubuntu 12.10.[25] An official GNOME edition of Ubuntu has come out with Ubuntu 13.04.[26]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNOME_Shell#cite_note-26

13.04 is the first officially supported version of Ubuntu for Gnome3.

From your link:


Our first (unofficial) release was 12.10 ("Quantal Quetzal") released in October 2012. See the Release Notes for more information and download links.

The first official release will be 13.04, which will be available by the end of April 2013. If you're itching to try it now, check out the daily images here.
Click to expand...

Thats what I mean by official :) As per the question I was responding to. I stand corrected. As per the latest release of Ubuntu this month there is now for the first time an official version :)
 
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I'm not a fan of gnome or unity. I like XFCE and I also like Arch so I ended up going with Manjaro XFCE, won't recommend it for a stable production box though as they are still at v0.8.5 and you have the occasional issues wrt updates.
 
ponder said:
I'm not a fan of gnome or unity. I like XFCE and I also like Arch so I ended up going with Manjaro XFCE, won't recommend it for a stable production box though as they are still at v0.8.5 and you have the occasional issues wrt updates.
Click to expand...

I liked Lubuntu on my older laptop. Gave it a new life. My old laptop sucked in power and died running gnome3. So I ran Lubuntu instead.
 
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